The Mackay Centre, which offers lipreading courses to the hearing-impaired and American Sign Language classes to the hearing and hearing-impaired, has merged with the Montreal Association for the Blind.

The clients of the expanded centre include children and youth with motor impairments or communication disorders, and people of all ages who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have visual impairments. The centre also contributes to research projects.

Lipreading courses offered through Communicaid for Hearing Impaired Persons, or CHIP, run from September 4 to December 18.

“These courses are a boon to people struggling with an acquired hearing loss,” the MAB-Mackay Centre said in a statement. “They find a sense of community and sharing with others who have the same communication needs. Some have said that these courses have changed their lives and brought them out of the isolation that afflicts many people who are losing their hearing.”

Although the adult and rehab services have moved to the new location at 7010 Sherbrooke W., the CHIP lipreading courses will take place at the Mackay’s original site, 3500 Décarie.